Headless Bingo
by GenisisLarceny
Summary: Four years after the Memory World Arc, and a lost friend is back. Atemu must face his choices, and live the life he left behind, along with discovering the life yet unlived. Main: Atemu, Seto, Mokuba, Bakura. Yaoi
1. Chapter 1

Headless Bingo

_Chase down your dreams, because your dreams won't chase you down. _

–_Joey Zehr_

"You know you're narcissistic, when your name is your screen saver," Atemu muttered, staring at the three giant computer screens casting a blue glow on Seto's face. He leaned on the back of the other teen's chair, absently blowing on the strands, watching them flutter under his breath. "Why are we down here?"

"To look for porn," Seto said, not taking his eyes off the screens as they came to life.

Atemu blinked, watching Seto's reflection in the screen, the closed expression on his lover's face unable to give him a clue weather or not the teen was serious. "Porn?"

"Yes, Pharaoh, porn. Professional or amateur movies of naked people having sex with other naked people." Seto's keys flew across the keyboard, typing in commands faster then Atemu could follow, let alone process.

"I know what it IS, Seto." Atemu said, growling slightly at being treated like a child. "I'm just...rather surprised that you would come down here, to a top secret...place, to look for porn."

Seto's hands stilled on the keyboard and he blinked, before titling his head back, looking up into Atemu's face. "I was being sarcastic."

Atemu's cheeks coloured faintly and he glared down at Seto. Huffing, he pushed down on the chair before removing his weight, causing Seto to bounce slightly. The CEO smirked at that and gestured to the chair next to him before returning to his typing, watching the letters and symbols appear on the screen.

Atemu took the chair, leaning back in it, ignoring Seto's look as he rested his boot clad feet on the console in front of him. "Now, answer my question."

"I'm working." Seto replied, glaring at the feet a bit longer before returning his attention to the screen. "You are stalking."

"You have a laptop, not to mention a desktop in your study and one at your office, WHY are you working down here?"

"Generally because it's private...until now." Seto said, before halting in his typing, turning to look at the teen next to him. "I can't help it if you arrived home just as inspiration struck. If I didn't work when the ideas came, you wouldn't have that duel disk you and the puppy are so fond of."

"We have duel disks because you like making money," Atemu corrected, closing his eyes and leaning further back in the chair. "Wake me when you're done." he said, voice already thick with sleep. He had been up too late working on a plan to get back into Yugi's life.. He started to fall asleep, listening absently to Seto return to his typing, smiling at the familiar sounds. It was...comforting, to hear the soft clacking of the keys.

Seto paused in his work, saving the file before reaching for his coffee, sipping it slowly as his eyes traced over lines of coding. Hearing a soft snore, he turned, watching Atemu sleep, a small, almost invisible smile tugging at his lips. He glanced around the room nervously, as if someone were hiding in the shadows, before leaning forward, brushing his lips over Atemu's, quickly pulling away and returning to studying the code he had spent four hours writing. There was the slightest shifting of leather on leather and he glanced back at Atemu from the corner of his eye, watching those lips he had just kissed part, a soft groan escaping them. He swallowed, taking another sip of coffee, trying to direct his eyes back to the screen, only to have them drift again as a soft pant escaped Atemu's mouth.

Atemu shifted again in the chair, curling up slightly. His hand slid up his body, thumb catching on his short black t-shirt, pushing it up with his hand, baring his stomach and lower chest. Another groan and Seto could no longer focus his brain on the codes still happily glowing on the screen, blue eyes drawn to the exposed flesh before him.

It was unfair, that such an innocent glimpse of flesh should raise the temperature of the room this much.

Seto swallowed and took a steading breath, only to choke on it as his petite lover let out a happy little moan, shifting again in the chair. The hand that had been moving up stilled, before slowly tracing it's way back down, brushing over the large silver buckle that held his pants up, stopping to rest on the second that crossed over his hips, securing his deck to his side.

Seto stared at the hand, trying to swallow, forcing himself to look back at the screen, taking yet another sip of cooling coffee. He had work to do. More code to right, more tests to run, more sweet, fuckable Pharaoh's to defile. He coughed as coffee slid down the wrong pipe, mentally glaring at his own brain and imagination for deciding the last plan.

This was all that idiot's fault.

He forced his attention back to the work at hand, firmly grasping his mouse as he highlighted a section of text, deleting it before re-coding it to prevent the duel disks from catching fire the moment he implemented it. He was proud of himself, not being distracted in the slightest, despite the...noises coming from the man next to him.

And the glance to the left was just to make sure the idiot was asleep and not fucking with his head, not out of any interest as Atemu whimpered. He saved the file again, replacing the previous, worrying at his lip as he watched the progress of the file, ignoring the happy, breathless noises coming from the non existent pharaoh in the invisible chair next to him.

"Seto..." Atemu breathed and the coffee cup went flying across the room.

Seto took a deep, composing breath, squeezing his eyes shut as he struggled to find the iron control that he normally possessed.

"Mm, Seto, harder..."

Control, control, creamy little thighs spread so...CONTROL!

Feeling a sense of calmness coming over him, Seto hit a few keys on the keyboard, slipping a CD into the drive before saving the file to the disc, staring at the progress bar as if it held all the secrets to the universe. All he needed to do was finish burning this CD, then everything would be fine. He could relax, maybe take Mokuba out for ice-cream...

Atemu gave another whimper from next to him, following this up with a breathless hitching moan that made Seto's head fall onto the edge of the console. "Are you TRYING to drive me insane?" he growled out.

"Is it working?" Atemu asked, yawning softly and returning his feet to the ground, a slight smirk playing over his lips.

"How long have you been awake?" Seto asked, turning his head to the side and glaring at his lover who laughed, brushing his fingers through the brunette strands of Seto's hair.

"Since your coffee committed suicide." he wheeled his chair closer to Seto's, entangling his legs with the brunette's longer ones, leaning in close. "Does listening to my dreams excite you that much?" he asked in a low whisper, tongue flicking out over Seto's lips.

Seto growled in lieu of an answer, instead deciding to close the already limited space between their lips, his hand sliding into Atemu's spiked hair to pull the teen even closer as his tounge did it's own flicking before being accepted into Atemu's mouth. Atemu gave an inaudible groan, his hands sliding up around Seto's neck.

He used the other boy's height advantage to swing himself over the arms of their chairs, easily settling himself in Seto's lap, knees straddling the brunette's thighs. He gave a soft whimper, wiggling slightly to better position himself, pulling away from the kiss, staring up into Seto's eyes. "I guess it does," he breathed and gave a gasp as Seto's hips pressed up against his.

Seto's hands slid down, brushing over the top of Atemu's bare arms, before sliding under them, brushing his index fingers over the smooth, sensitive skin. He allowed his hands to travel down before grasping Atemu's hips, pushing them down as he moved up again against the other teen. "You are an evil. Wicked. Demon. Brat." He bit out, driving their hips against one another with each word.

Atemu laid his head against Seto's shoulder, panting softly, giving a mewling whimper each time their bodies brushed over one another. "Stop...stop playing." he managed to get out, before turning his head, lips latching onto the curve of Seto's neck, biting hard, causing the man beneath him to jerk, hands tightening on leather clad hips. "Bastard." Atemu added as an afterthought, moving his mouth up to latch onto Seto's hungrily, thrusting his tounge into the brunette's mouth as his hands worked on buttons and buckles, attempting to get Seto's shirt and pants off at the same time, the grinding of their hips counter productive to his actions. He gave a needy little whimper and gave up on the buttons, yanking hard on the edges of Seto's shirt, wincing as a button hit his cheek.

Task accomplished, his mouth pulled away from Seto's, and instead latched onto a nipple peaking out of cotton.

Seto opened his mouth to say something, but instead tightened an arm around Atemu's back, leaning forward. Atemu's actions had over balanced them and the chair tilted before crashing to the ground. Now on the floor, legs dangling above them, Seto stared at the ceiling for a moment before bursting into laughter, causing Atemu to raise his head, confused. Seto put an arm over his eyes, his laughter slowly dying off, though the smile still hovered over his lips. He moved his arm, wrapping it behind Atemu and pulling him in for a kiss, lifting his hips and kicking the chair out from under them. His hands slid up under Atemu's t-shirt, caressing the warm flesh that had taunted him earlier as he plundered the sweet mouth above his.

Atemu returned to working on Seto's pants as they kissed, his tounge curling around Seto's eagerly, sucking and nipping at the invader. Belt undone, Atemu, more gently then previous, un-buttoned the pants, sliding the zipper down before eagerly shoving his hand inside, ready to claim the prize he sought.

"S...stop, Atemu." Seto gasped out, grabbing the slender wrist currently diving into his pants, stilling it. "We need to stop."

"Don't want to," Atemu muttered and winced as Seto tightened his grip, glaring down at the brunette. "Why do we have to stop?"

Seto coughed before sitting up, kissing the pouting lips. "Because we do NOT have sex where the shiny computers live." he said and removed the hand from his pants, holding the wrist as he stood, before helping Atemu stand. He reached down with the free hand, zipping himself back up, before heading for the door, tugging Atemu after who stumbled behind, mumbling something about bastard computer geeks that Seto wasn't too eager to listen more closely to.

Once they were in the dark hallway that lead to the stairs out, Atemu jerked his wrist back, glaring at Seto. "There, no more computers." he said, before shoving Seto against the wall, pressing their lips together eagerly.

Seto reached up, grasping Atemu's cheeks gently, and pulling their mouthes apart. "Atemu, trust me. I would love nothing more then to shove you against the nearest hard surface and thrust myself into your delicious little body until you pass out, but right now we can't."

"If this is another stupid thing like your computer or work or..."

Seto rolled his eyes, as if asking for divine patience before resting his forehead against Atemu's. "Idiot." he muttered before nipping at the reddened lips before him. He pulled away from the teen, heading up the stairs. "It's about lubrication, Pharaoh!" he called over his shoulder, disappearing into the daylight.

Atemu blinked, staring after his vanishing lover before cursing. He ran up the stairs, leaping on Seto's back, almost knocking the taller man face first into the grass. "Why don't you carry it WITH you? Then I can ride you wherever I want." he complained, sliding off Seto's body after a few steps, annoyed that their activities were delayed simply because they did not have the necessary...equipment.

"Why don't you?" Seto asked with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not the only one in this relationship after all."

"This isn't a relationship, it's a mutual agreement to get shagged." Atemu corrected and Seto waved him off.

"Semantics, Pharaoh."

Atemu gave Seto a glare, trying to wrap his brain around the unfamiliar word before giving up. He grabbed Seto's waistband, using it as a handle to shove the large teen against a tree, his hand going behind Seto's head to keep it from hitting the hard trunk. "Fuck lubrication."

Seto opened his mouth to correct that idea, eager to point out they couldn't fuck WITHOUT lubrication before Atemu got any ideas, only to find himself highly distracted by the sight of Atemu kneeling before him, licking his lips as he unzipped Seto's pants again, pulling them down a bit to get the zipper out of the way before reaching in and pulling out his prize.

Seto's head fell back against the tree trunk as Atemu's hand caressed him. The first touch of those moist, warm lips against him and he closed his eyes, reaching down to thread his hand through Atemu's hair, gently massaging as more and more disappeared into the wet heat around him. He swallowed heavily, eyes opening to stare down at the humming boy, nails raking lightly across Atemu's scalp.

No matter what he did, what he saw, nothing would ever be as perfect, as hotly erotic as watching himself slide between Atemu's kiss bruised lips, the teen's exotic eyes fluttering slightly, half open as Atemu devoted himself to the task before him, giving it everything he possibly could.

Seto enjoyed watching a master at work, and Atemu was a master of many things.

--

The moonlight filtered weakly through the barely drawn curtains, casting it's pale shadow over the bed. Seto groaned and shifted, his body trying to lure him back into sleep's embrace while his mind woke up and started it's routine of filtering a million different ideas and thoughts at once.

He sat up, running a hand through his already sleep mused hair before grabbing his jeans from the floor and sliding them on, his shirt following, another yawn escaping him as he leaned back on his hands, trying to get his body to obey him.

There was a soft groan and the bed next to him shifted. Seto turned, watching as Atemu shifted in his sleep, curling more against the pillow he clutched under his head. Without Seto's body to block him the former pharaoh curled more into the center of the bed, content to hog what he could, claiming it for himself.

Seto watched the other teen for a moment, waiting until Atemu was deeply asleep again before moving, shifting on the bed to better see him, his hand raising slowly and running through the tri-coloured hair, gently working out the tangles of sleep and hair gel.

"I could have loved you," Seto whispered, leaning over the teen sleeping in his bed. He traced a finger gently down the soft skin of Atemu's cheek before slipping from the bed, not bothering to button shirts nor pants as he padded over to the desk across the room.

He flipped open the lid of his laptop, a faint blue glow on his face as the machine went out of stand-bye mode. He glanced over the top of it, eyes resting, lingering for a moment on the bed before being drawn back to the open spread sheets, fingers already moving to input numbers.

It had been a long time since Seto had thought of such frivolous things as love, not since he had been a child, before the orphanage had even entered his life. After his father's death, after being abandoned by the rest of his family, after meeting Gozaburo.

He paused in his typing, staring absently at a dark corner of the room. It seemed as if his entire life was made up of Befores and Afters. There was never Now. He sighed, leaning back in his chair, dragging his eyes back to the computer in front of him, eyes scanning the lines of code, trying to force his brain back to a more productive track then Before, After, Now and Love.

His attention drifted as the sound of satin rustling against satin came to him and he watched Atemu shift again, giving the smallest of smiles as his lover gave a discontented sound before burring himself further under the blankets, as if he were trying to cocoon himself in them.

Shaking his head, Seto resumed typing, mind soon consumed by numbers and letters, imagining the changes the code would do to the duel disks, lovingly creating each image as he re-wrote the duel monster data.

--

"So, what's this?" Mokuba asked, peering into a pan, careful not to touch after the last time. He never knew spatula's could hurt that badly.

"This, is a pastry," Atemu said, ignoring Mokuba's rolled eyes.

"I kind of figured that one out," the sixteen-year-old said, reaching out to poke the sweet mess, jerking his hand back before the spatula made contact. "I meant what is it's NAME?"

"It...doesn't have a name," Atemu said, shrugging. "It's just always existed. It was a specialty of my cook."

"Ooh," Mokuba said before returning to setting the table for two. "So this is what you guys ate for breakfast?"

"For many meals, actually, though it varied in sweetness and size depending on the time of day, mornings would be lighter, sweeter to give energy, evenings were more focused on the meats and the cakes, sweetness toned down to fit the hours of rest coming up. Beer was of course a staple no matter what."

"Didn't you guys get drunk, drinking beer all the time?" Mokuba asked, tilting his head curiously, his long braid swinging.

Atemu laughed, almost choking on the sip of beer he had taken as Mokuba spoke. "Not quite. Egyptians built up a tolerance to alcohol since beer and wines were our main drink. And when we did get drunk...well it was an amusing show. Often we would get the youngest or the forgin slaves drunk just to watch their antics."

"Atemu! That's horrible!"

Atemu shrugged, though he had a bit of colour in his cheeks. "I didn't start it, it was just...amusing as anything to watch. Besides, it made men out of them in the end, they ended up with a high tolerance."

"And then you moved onto the next one!"

"I'm saying nothing lest I get yelled at again." Atemu said, sticking his nose in the air before taking another sip of his beer and bringing the pastries to the table. Mokuba grabbed the grilled fish and grapes, setting them in the center before taking his seat.

"So did you guys REALLY go around naked? My teacher said that you did because of the heat."

"Hm, sometimes, sometimes we wore garments of gauze or linen. It WAS hot, Egypt is in a desert after all. Trust me, there were more then a few days I would rather have been naked then even in the slightest bit of cloth, no matter how thin and airy."

"So you got to see a lot of girls naked?" Mokuba said, wide-eyed, wondering at how awesome that would be.

"Mostly my slaves and servants. The rest of the women in the palace wore linen dresses unless in their own chambers. And children of course, scads of children running around naked in the palace." He frowned, tilting his head. "I still can't figure out where most of them came from."

Mokuba laughed before digging into the food. "This is really good!" he said, sounding amazed as he tried a bit of fish and the honey/nut pastry at the same time.

Atemu smiled, pulling a piece of the flaky pastry free with his fingers, eating the bite before meticulously cleaning his fingers with his tounge, repeating the motion. "I _can_ cook, you know."

"I just...with you being Pharaoh and then a spirit..."

"Okay, I can see where you would get that assumption, but I needed something to do while I was hiding from my tutors."

"You hid in the kitchen?"

"Free food, free mothering from the female servants and something fun and messy to get into, cooking was a lot more enjoyable to learn then military strategy."

Mokuba laughed at that, sipping his own small glass of beer. "So, not to change subjects but to completely change it, what's up with your hair? I know it's not natural but Nii-sama says you had it even in the memory world."

Atemu held up the end of his own braid, still wet from his shower, staring almost cross-eyed at the ends. "Just...found it an interesting look."

"May I...touch it?"

Atemu nodded and leaned forward so his short braid could reach Mokuba's hands. Mokuba cleaned off his fingers before reaching out and gently fingering the braid and a lock of dual-coloured hair that slipped free. "It's soft," he said, amazed.

"You expected different?"

"Well, with how you usually wear it...why _do_ you wear it like that?"

"Habit? I wore it like that in Yugi's body and in Egypt as well so it's just, natural for me to spike it back up."

"What did you _use_ in Egypt...and why? Wasn't it strange to the others?"

"I was the Pharaoh, I _set _fashion, and it made a nice backdrop for my crown. As for what I used," Atemu stuck a finger into the jar of golden honey on the table, sucking it clean. "Attracted flies like crazy but it had killer hold." he said with a grin, causing Mokuba to shake his head.

"You're strange, Atemu."

"Now, I have a question for you." Atemu said, picking apart a new piece of pastry.

"Hm?" Mokuba swallowed before waving his hand. "Go ahead."

"What happened to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You don't smile as much as the boy I knew, your eyes are dead...what happened while I was gone?"

"Why did you come back?" Mokuba countered.

"I...hey, no fair, answer the question, kid."

"Answer mine first. Why did you come back, Atemu? Why haven't you told Yugi you're here? For four years we were here, living without you and suddenly you show up on our door step, soaking wet, trembling, and in the two weeks you've lived with Nii-sama and I, you haven't even _looked_ at Yugi, let alone spoke with him."

"It's...it's hard, Mokuba. You're right, I _did_ leave you all alone for four years, I left _Yugi_ alone for four years. I left, because it was time, because it was the right thing to do, for everyone." He sighed, twisting the ring on his middle finger. "Everyone except myself. What's the use of heaven, of eternity, without the ones I cared about? What's the use of paradise, if everything that would make it so, is here? It to four, long, painful years, but I'm here and now...now I have to learn to be me, without being Yami, without being the King of Games...just...Atemu. That's why I can't see Yugi yet. I can't bring that pain, without having answers, without having...something to offer him."

"Why us?"

"Who else? You guys were the most impartial, the ones who didn't believe, yet followed along anyway. The ones willing to tell me the truth, no matter how much it hurt, to break me if it was needed...to kill me if I asked."

"That's Seto, not me," Mokuba said softly.

"No, it's you as well, Mokuba. Death-T may have been your brother's idea and darkness, but you showed your self in it. You both have that side that will do anything to win, sacrifice anything for what you desire. Those are the qualities I need right now, the same that I have inside me. Without Yugi to balance me, I need someone who understands."

"But at Death-T..."

"Those qualities were perverted and corrupted. They twisted themselves into games of death and blood. It doesn't make those qualities bad, just the actions that were born from them." Atemu reached out, brushing his fingers through Mokuba's hair, picking at the end of the braid. "Speaking of Death-T, what's wrong, kid? Why do I see that same, rotten little brat staring out of your eyes?"

"I...things are different now, Atemu. After you left, things...thing went bad. You weren't there and Seto was grieving and...things just went bad." Mokuba pushed away his plate, staring at the table. "He never asked anyone for help. He thought...it wasn't worth it anymore."

Atemu bit his lip, concerned about Mokuba's words but not willing to push the boy for any more of the story then he was willing to share. A beeping alarm caused both to jump and Mokuba pulled out his cellphone, cursing softly. He drained his drink before giving Atemu and apologetic look.

"I've got to go, we have a business meeting in an hour."

"What about school?"

"I haven't been to school in three years, it's pointless and Seto needs me at Kaiba Corp." Mokuba stood, pressing a kiss to Atemu's forehead before heading out of the kitchen, grabbing his jacket and travel mug of coffee on the way.

"Hey, Mokuba!" Atemu called after him, leaning back in his chair.

"Yeah?" Mokuba called, pausing and turning to look at the older teen in the chair, bouncing from foot to foot, ready to race away again.

"Why do you and Seto wear black?"

"We're in mourning." Mokuba said, almost too soft to hear.

"Mourning what?"

"My innocence," With that parting line, the teenage Vice President of Kaiba Corporation was dashing out of the kitchen, yelling up the stairs for his brother.

--

Notes:

A. Yes, black is the colour of fertility in Egypt, that's why Atemu asked.

B. Nii-sama kept because it fits Mokuba.


	2. Hiding from each other

**Note:** This is an...odd mix of manga (English) and Anime (Japanese subs).

**Chapter Two: Hiding From Each Other**

_To him that you tell your secret you resign your liberty. -Unknown_

Atemu had spent two weeks living with the Kaiba brothers. Two weeks in which he did nothing but eat, sleep, breath and enjoy the benefits of having nothing better then to lounge around in Seto's bed, waiting for the brunette to get home.

As enjoyable as those two weeks had been, his conversation with Mokuba made him wake up. There was an entire world outside Seto's bedroom, outside the mansion. The Kaiba brothers, as well as everyone else in their lives, had been living in that world for four years and two weeks since he had last seen them.

Four years and two weeks that had taken away something irreplaceable in Mokuba and hardened Seto. Something that had changed the world he had left behind.

The time for lounging around and waiting for his lover to return was over. Atemu was near desperate, wondering what had happened to the people he left behind. He started his search with the mansion itself. Seto had given the former Pharaoh free run of the house on the second day he lived there, and while until now, Atemu hadn't ventured further then the common areas, he figured it was time he explored the place he currently called home.

He started with the lower rooms, exploring each from the kitchen to the ballroom, ignoring the servants he passed, simply content to know the layout in his mind. He then moved to the second floor, which was larger given that the rooms were smaller. Here he discovered three offices, a library, what appeared to be a game room, a gym, a parlour and of course, more bedrooms then the Kaiba brothers would ever use, even if they invited most of the people they knew.

Shutting the door to Mokuba's room (after a brief snooping excursion that discovered nothing Atemu didn't already know), he sighed, leaning against the door. In the shadows of the doorway down the hall that Atemu knew lead to a guest room, was a small, female figure. Atemu turned, studying the figure, before crooking a finger.

Aika, one of the maids slipped from the doorway and moved closer to him, bowing. "There is another set of stairs, leading to old servant quarters," she said softly as she stood, gesturing with a hand to a doorway that Atemu had missed simply because it blended with the wood work. "Master Seto keeps private things there." She gave him a look as she said this before scurrying back down the hall to finish dusting the guest room.

Atemu watched her go before looking at the door. "Private things? Sounds interesting." He walked over to the door, barely outlined in the wood, before gently pushing on it. the door rotated inward, revealing a set of thick wooden stairs, leading up to the darkness. Atemu searched, before flicking on the lights, following the stairs up, wondering what secrets he might find. The small space was dominated by rooms, each filled by boxes and trunks, different memories, different lives. Several rooms appeared to store things that belonged to the former Kaiba family members, including items that had to belong to Noa and Gozoboro. Venturing further down the hall, the past gave way to the present, old toys, out grown clothes and broken games were the memories kept of Seto and Mokuba, though Atemu guessed most of the books were Seto's alone.

At the end of the hall was a wide, open space that would have been a sort of communal room when the servants still lived there. Here a desk rested, dust covering it, the dirt only broken by a few folders and a thick manila envelope. Atemu clicked on a lap, pleased that it worked before picking up the envelope. Pictures spilled out, scattering over the desk's surface. Atemu smiled, picking up one of the publicity photos from Battle City, admiring the view of his friend's faces as they waited for what he now knew would be the Kaiba Corporation's blimp to appear. He leaned against the desk, studying each person, their easy smiles (well, mostly easy, Seto was glaring and it seemed Marik was plotting something the moment the picture had been taken). His eyes skimmed over the young teen he had spent so long connected to, simply drinking in the others before finally returning to Yugi, allowing the sweet, innocent face of his beloved partner and friend to wash over him.

He set the picture aside and picked up another, amused that it was a shot of Mokuba yelling at a duelist from Battle City. He doubted it was a publicity shot, more of a personal one that had probably been taken by Seto himself. He set it aside and selected another, his own crimson eyes staring back at him. He had no idea when it had been taken, but it was obviously sometime when had been in school as the background was of the same building.

Setting that aside, he started shifting pictures randomly, simply studying them, occasionally smiling or laughing as something caught his eye. They all carried the same theme, Mokuba, Seto, himself and his friends, all laid out for view. Some were staged shots, publicity photos from magazines or a tournament hosting. Some were private, small snapshots done by one of the others, there were some video stills, probably from one of Kaiba Corp's many security cameras that were attached to damn near anything that held the KC brand, and some, odd little photos that Atemu couldn't place, before recognizing them as the school photo's they had taken. The idea had confused him, before Yugi and Jounouchi explained.

Two shots in particular caught his eye as he started picking them up and he blinked, looking down at the desert sands of his homeland. The one on the left, featured everyone who had been there (except him), standing before a tomb entrance, looking happy, yet with a haunting sadness that gave Atemu a guess as to it being taken after he left them.

The one on the right, was of Seto, sitting by what Atemu recognized as the door to the afterlife, the brunette's head back against the stone, eyes closed tightly. He turned the photo over and found the date, followed by a small string of characters in Mokuba's handwriting.

"The death of a dream," Atemu whispered, before flipping the photo back over and staring at his lover. He gently brushed this thumb over the image, before slipping it into his back pocket, sealing up the rest of the photos and setting them aside. He grabbed the file folders and started flipping through them, examining various newspaper clippings before moving onto the next. In the very last folder, he found clippings from the various...targetings of Kaiba Corp. Frowning, Atemu sorted through them before finding the most recent clippings, discussing the kidnapping of Mokuba, just after he became the official Vice President of the company.

"Billionaire's brother missing, VP gone, kidnapping suspected, ransom note delivered to Kaiba Land," Atemu read, scanning the articles quickly. The last article was a torn out obituary, the paper nearly ripped in half, describing the homicide of a thirty-year-old Italian immigrant. Atemu wondered how the woman fit in.

--

"She called herself Belle Morte, Beautiful Death." Mokuba said, wrapping his arms around his knees, staring out the window of the therapists office.

"Was she?" the therapist asked, making a note on the pad in front of her, crossing her legs as she studied her young client.

"Was she what?"

"Beautiful?"

Mokuba nodded, before shaking his head. He sighed, giving a half shrug. "I don't know, I don't really remember. I only see her in flashes...glimpses. She had...she had long black hair...and she smelled of peppermint."

"Is that what you remember most about her?"

Mokuba swallowed thickly before shaking his head. "Her hands...they were small, rough on some parts, but...not, on others."

"What else do you remember about those hands, Kaiba-kun?"

"I...they..." Mokuba swallowed again, promptly gagging as his throat closed against the action. The therapist hurried to his side, handing him a trash can just as the teen vomited. She rubbed his back, taking the can away when he finished.

"It's alright," she said softly, removing her hand and checking her watch. "We can leave off here. Next time I want you to bring in something important to you, something from before all this, alright?"

Mokuba nodded, wiping his eyes on his sleeve before pulling his sunglasses out of his pocket and slipping them on. He sniffled and stood, shields coming back around him as he went from a whimpering teen to the headstrong vice president he was outside the office. "Until next week, sensei," he said softly, before leaving the office.

His therapist sighed, crossing back over to her chair, grabbing her pad of paper and pen, making notes about the end of the session. "Belle Morte..." She shook her head, tossing the pad aside, trying to block out the emotions Mokuba's story stirred in her.

--

"I want to go to Kaiba Corporation." Atemu said, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared down his nose at the chauffeur he found waxing one of the limos.

The man looked up, quickly slapping his hat on his head and grabbing his coat. "Of course, Master Atemu, if you'll just..."

"Not in the limo, I want to go in that car." he said, pointing to one of Seto's private sports cars.

"But Master Ate..."

"Now." he said firmly before crossing over to the car and opening it, climbing into the passenger seat and buckling up. He started tapping his fingers on the arm wrest as he waited for the man to debate losing his job from _touching_ one of Seto's private vehicles, over losing his job because he denied Atemu against Seto's specific order that he was to obey the man like he would Seto or Mokuba.

Finally the driver climbed into the car, taking a deep breath as he started it and reversed down the driveway, making a turn and heading for the street, praying that obeying would keep him from Seto's wrath.

Atemu watched the city pass by, his un-bound and un-gelled hair waving in the breeze, blinding him at times. "How long?"

"ETA in five minutes, sir." the driver said, before looking at Atemu from the corner of his eye. "Three if we go past the Kame Game Shop."

Atemu turned, staring at the driver before looking back at the road, nodding. "Do it."

"As you wish." he said, taking a turn.

Atemu sent a silent prayer to long dead gods that his past wasn't around to see him.

Such prayers, of course, were never answered and Atemu could pick out his former partner's tri-coloured hair even from a distance. "Stop here," he ordered, voice soft. He climbed out of the car, shoving his sunglasses on top of his head as he stared across the street, watching as Yugi and Jounouchi wrested on the front steps of the game shop, their loud laughter floating back to him. He swallowed, eyes welling as he watched his two friends enjoy their life, suddenly missing his partner with a violent pain in his heart.

He climbed back into the car, sliding his sunglasses down over his eyes, waving the driver on.

--

"Nii-sama, they're doing it again. I just found two more hacker trails that lead back to Mantendo."

Seto made a face at his computer screen as he listened to Mokuba's report over his ear piece, taking a moment to envision the president of the console game company taking a walk off a cliff before focusing back on reality. "Destroy them."

"The trails or the company?"

"Either or, which ever suits your fancy."

"Aye aye, captain." Mokuba said, interrupted by a beep from Seto's ear piece. Seto clicked channels, his secretary's face appearing on his computer screen as her voice flowed into his ear.

"Kaiba-sama, there's an Atemu Kaiba here to see you."

Seto blinked at the woman in the corner of his screen, more thrown by the name then her appearance before nodding. "Send him in."

"Yes sir," she said before flickering out. Behind the static from her end, Seto could hear Mokuba snickering, indicating he had switched over as well, being his usual nosy self. The door across from Seto opened and Atemu strode in, taking a seat on Seto's desk, sunglasses hooking into his black tank top.

"Atemu _Kaiba_?" Seto questioned, raising an eyebrow though not looking up from the screen, tugging a folder out from under Atemu's leather clad thigh.

Atemu shrugged, reaching across the desk for the top drawer, pulling a sucker out of the stash of candy, carefully unwrapping it. "She required a last name before she would even put my request through and I don't have my own."

"You couldn't have used Motou's?" Seto asked, finally glancing up, watching as Atemu slid the red sucker into his mouth, the stick slowly sliding back and forth as the former pharaoh sucked on it.

"That name is his and his alone, Seto. Besides, she probably thought I was some freak and was eager to see security kick me out." he grinned at Seto before sobering, tucking the candy in his cheek to clear his mouth to speak. "I was reading old new reports earlier,"

"I'm surprised your Japanese is that advanced."

"Anyway!" Atemu said loudly, brushing past Seto's insult to his recent failures to master the written forms of the language. "I discovered something interesting, as I was pursing the reports."

"That Honda became a drag queen in Los Vegas?"

"No! Wait, did he?"

Seto just stared at Atemu until the older man shook his head, gathering himself back to the topic at hand. "Not important. Anyway, who is Antonia Giovanni?"

Across the large expanse of offices that made up Kaiba Corp's top most floor, a young business man was sitting at his desk, idly typing out commands on a computer when suddenly the laptop crashed to the floor, grey eyes wide, face pale, his breathing coming in harsh gasps.

_"Who is Antonia Giovanni?"_

Antonia. Bella. Death.

Mokuba gave a choked cry, clutching at his throat as it started to close up in reply to his panic attack, hitting the red button under his desk that would sound an alarm in Seto's office and the security station. He slid from his large, comfortable leather chair, body instinctively curling into a fetal position, phantom pains plaguing him as he fell further into his panic.

Atemu started violently as an alarm suddenly blared, falling off Seto's desk and awkwardly onto a chair next to it. Seto had jumped to his feet, nearly sending his chair out the window as he started for the door, barking commands into the microphone in front of his mouth, listening with anxious ears to the gasping on his brother's end.

Atemu chased after Seto, the twosome soon joined with guards and a medic team, the group reaching Mokuba's office swiftly. Seto shoved open the door, annoyed at the fact his brother had half locked it before shoving it off for the more important action of getting to his brother's side.

A medic was already next to Mokuba, removing the ear piece and microphone in order to slip an oxygen mast over the teen's bluing lips, speaking in a soft, calm voice, hoping to pull Mokuba out of the memories and pain.

Atemu stared, shocked as he watched everyone move in a well practiced routine, wondering what was going on, fear clutching at him as he watched the medics inject something into Mokuba while Seto radioed for the limo.

--

"You are _never_ to speak that name," Seto growled, glaring down at Atemu, his body stiff with anger, hands clenched so tightly at his sides his fingers were a pale white.

"Why? What is so important about a dead woman that Mokuba had to be rushed home?" Atemu asked, his own anger colouring his voice as Seto refused to answer another question. He understood that something was wrong with Mokuba and that the teen's health came first, but he was getting highly annoyed at not getting any answers.

"It's not important, just don't say her name!" Seto snapped before moving past Atemu, heading down to his office, intent on finishing the work he had left at the office and focus on something other then his little brother.

Atemu watched him go before shaking his head. He opened Mokuba's door, peeking in, watching as the teen slept the sleep of the drugged, an oxygen tube feeding fresh, pure oxygen into his nose while his breathing and heart rate were recorded on another machine.

After watching the steady beeping of Mokuba's heart for a long moment, Atemu shut the door behind him and headed to the room he shared with Seto. He grabbed one of his lover's long over coats, sliding into it before climbing out the window and down the side of the house, waiting for a guard patrol to go past before heading for the farthest end of the property.

He threw himself down on the grass, staring up at the fluttering leaves above him, mind turning over the problem in his head. Seto was keeping something from him, something big...that had to do with Mokuba.

And that was about all he knew at the moment. And it was frustrating to only know that much, when he deserved to know everything. After all he had done, after all they had been through...he deserved to know what was going on with his new family.

"You're wrinkling, Pharaoh." A voice said above him, and Atemu narrowed his gaze, staring through the shifting green and gold until he could see a splash of red. The person shifted and tan skin peeked out from under a red jacket.

Atemu grinned, sitting up. "And you're annoying, now get down here."

Bakura leapt easily from the tree, landing in a crouch next to Atemu before falling back, long tanned legs stretching out before him. He gave a glance to Atemu before smirking and pulling a deck of cards from his pocket, shuffling them. "So why are you pouting, my liege?"

Atemu made a face at the nickname, shifting until he could lean against Bakura, using the man's thigh as a pillow. "They're hiding things from me." he said, watching as the fluffy white clouds floated over head, trying to find a picture in them. "Somethings happened and they're not telling me what. It's...annoying, and frustrating."

"And you are completely honest with them?" Bakura asked absently, frowning at the fact Atemu had ruined his playing table before deciding Atemu's chest made a fine table and spreading his cards out in a pyramid layout, humming as he turned over the cards, reading their signs.

"Of course not. Do you think Seto would let me near his precious baby brother if he knew?" Atemu asked, tilting his head to look at the cards, wondering what Bakura saw in the rows of numbers and symbols before turning his attention back to the sky. "But that doesn't give them a right to hide things from me."

"My spoiled prince," Bakura said, his voice dry. "They have every right to hide things from you, Atemu, just as you do them. In fact, they may have _more_ right. They didn't walk away."

"I _had_ to," Atemu started and Bakura just stared at him until Atemu shrank back, righteousness vanishing. "I had to," he whispered, trying to convince himself as well as Bakura.

"If you had to, why are you here?" Bakura asked, picking up his cards and shuffling them again.

"I...we..." Atemu trailed off, frowning.

"Because you were lonely, because you were bored, because you missed _Seto_ and not your pretty little priest. Because you missed LIVING, fighting, dying, breathing. You didn't need to leave, Atemu. Destiny can always find away around it's own dictates, otherwise you and I would not be sitting here, enjoying the spring air.Face it, Pharaoh, you're a spoiled little brat who does what he pleases, consequences be damned and then pouts and whines when he finds out the world doesn't stop for him. Pick three cards."

Atemu growled at Bakura's words, but he knew, deep down in his heart of hearts, they were true. He selected three cards from the spread on his chest, handing them to Bakura and returning to his perusal of the sky, waiting for his fortune to be read.

He had never imagined, three years ago when he entered the Shadows to find Bakura, that he would find this man. He had expected the man he knew, the angry, hateful, possessed bastard that had spent two lives, attempting to destroy him. Instead...

Instead he found what Bakura _should_ have been. Not innocent, no, Bakura would never be innocent, but simply...free. This was a Bakura unbound by memories of hell and revenge, free of the hate that had plagued him. This Bakura was ready to embrace his life and finally...finally move on.

And he was the perfect partner for Atemu who just wanted out of what he had chosen, he wanted his life back, not this...half life of eternity.

"Interesting," Bakura commented and Atemu was jerked back to the present.

"What?" Atemu shifted, trying to see the cards. Bakura assisted him by holding a card so that it dangled just above Atemu's nose. "Your past, the king of spades,"

"And that means...what?"

"That you were authoritarian, logical, cold and ruthless, it's your past card." Bakura said, and Atemu made a face, snatching the card. "You're lying."

"I, Bakura, King of Thieves, do not lie...much." He switched the king with another card. "The two of clubs, which means your intuition helps you with your decisions. It's your present card...I'm assuming that means trust your gut regarding Seto and Mokuba...or maybe about the idiots, no idea."

Atemu closed his eyes, indulging it a bit of meditation, allowing Bakura's deep voice to wash over him as he focused on what he felt deep down in his gut, about the situation. It was hard, a part of him wanted to know everything, to fix everything, and another part of him wanted to take a 'wait and see' approach, that part also wanted Atemu to wait if just for Seto to tell him himself, thus establishing trust.

"And then I ran naked around the throne room while you're little priest growled and struggled against his bonds, trying to stab me with that stupid Millennium steak knife..."

"Huh?"

"Nothing, just wondering when you were going to tune back into reality," Bakura said, not elaborating on the fact he had been confessing to something he did after sneaking into the palace. "Ready for your future?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Atemu muttered and blinked at the three of spades now dangling over his nose. "And this means...what?"

"Three's a crowd. You're going to have infidelities."

"Never!" Atemu said, sitting up so fast he nearly hit his forehead on Bakura's chin. "I am a dedicated and faithful man."

Bakura coughed violently, before giving up and just laughing, the mirth forcing him to fall backwards, convulsing on the ground. Atemu blared at him before elbowing him hard in the stomach, stopping Bakura's laughter and causing the thief to growl. "If you were faithful," he coughed, you would still be engaged to Mana."

"I never..." Atemu trailed off, blushing. "I was seven!"

"Still, you promised to marry her, and yet you ended up shagging Seth, so you're not faithful, especially since Seth wasn't your only lover either."

Atemu coloured and elbowed Bakura again just for the hell of it. "That's different, it was...expected."

"For the crown prince to be a slut?" Bakura said innocently, ducking as Atemu took a swipe at his head. He grabbed Atemu around the waist, knocking the man down, smirking as he straddled Atemu's hips, using his larger bulk to keep him down. "Besides, my king, Seto wasn't on your mind two years ago."

"I was cut off from him!"

"Excuse it all you will, but you weren't faithful in thoughts or actions when you were crying out my name." Bakura leaned down, licking up Atemu's neck before rolling off of him. "If anyone asks you about a murder involving ritual and hieroglyphics, you know nothing."

"What have you done now?" Atemu groaned, massaging his face with his hands. "Please don't tell me you killed someone..."

"Of course I did, you left me alone, I got bored, viola!"

"I despise you." Atemu groaned before pulling Bakura down, resting his head on the tanned chest, idly drawing on Bakura's stomach. It was so strange to him still. Four years ago they were enemies, fighting in a battle that could have destroyed the modern world...

And now they were friends of a sort, companions at the least. Going through hell and struggling to find a way back had bonded them in ways that not even Seto or Yugi could destroy. Bakura was home, a living and breathing reminder of the world he had left behind, and missed so much. He was everything that was good and wonderful about Egypt.

"Do you want me to see if Seto can get you a job, you could work security," Atemu said, shifting and rolling over so he could look at Bakura's face.

Bakura shook his head, running his fingers through Atemu's hair. "I'm quite happy doing whatever pleases me, when it pleases me. A job would interfere with that."

"If you're sure..."

"I am, now, my king, shut up." and to make his order reality, Bakura leaned forward, kissing Atemu. Atemu smiled into the kiss, returning it, his mouth sliding open to deepen the kiss as he made himself comfortable for an enjoyable make out session.

Across the wide grounds of the Kaiba Estate, a young man stood on his balcony, sipping a beer as he looked through the telescope resting in a perfect position to explore the stars above. On this day though, the telescope wasn't pointed at the heavens, but instead across the large expanse of lawn, focused on his lover's face.

Seto pulled away from the telescope, staring across the lawn, just barley making out the figures he knew to be Atemu and Bakura. Draining his beer he turned and headed back into his bedroom, curtained door blocking out the sight.


	3. Darkness

**Chapter Three: Darkness**

_Battle not with monsters  
lest ye become a monster  
and if you gaze into the abyss  
the abyss gazes into you. _

_-Friedrich Nietzsche _

Bakura pulled away from Atemu, licking his lips, smiling at the rather dazed look on the other man's face. He lay back, waiting for Atemu to come back to reality, snickering softly. Atemu's eyes slowly opened and with a small, barely there pout, he looked down at Bakura, tilting his head in a silent question.

"My lips are sore," Bakura said by way of explanation, before pushing himself up on his elbows. "Let me see your eyes."

Atemu blinked before opening his eyes wide, the crimson and ametheist orbs peering curiously down at Bakura.

"Not what I meant," Bakura said and raised his hand, forcing his innate magic into Atemu, over powering the glamour that hid the man's right eye. As the glamour fell, spots of green started to colour the eye, a fine circle around his iris, and lighter green specks through out the rest of the reddish purple colouring. "It's getting worse."

Atemu nodded, closing his eyes, calling up his magic to replace the glamour, before blinking his eyes open, back to normal. "I can feel it now. A beast swimming under my skin."

"Hate to say it, but you might need to talk to the midget, Atemu."

Atemu shook his head, drawing his knees up to his chest. "I'm not concerning Yugi with this, his adventures are over, and he likes it that way. It's time for him to live his life, not deal with my problems. I can control it."

"It's eating you alive!"

"It'll be fine, Bakura." Atemu said, a low growl in his voice, the silent order to drop it clear in the air. "Speaking of lighter halves, have you seen Ryou?"

Bakura stared at the grass, picking at the blades. "For what reason? So he can stab me with one of the knives I left behind?" He looked up at Atemu through his bangs. "We weren't like you and the midget, I ruined him."

"A. You were possessed, B. You were possessed, C...oh look, you were possessed. He'll understand!"

"Yeah, because he knows what it's like to have an evil, homicidal, hate filled maniac living in his body, controlling his every move and doing things without his permission." Bakura said bitterly before falling back. "Forget it, Atemu. He's better off now. He's free, and that's the way it should be. Besides, I saw him. He's _happy_. And I'm glad he's happy."

"Bakura, you can't just leave things this way. You need to talk to him and I know he needs to hear it."

"Hear...what?"

"Your apology, your explanations...you feelings."

"My feelings don't matter, and I don't deserve forgiveness. I'm not talking to him, Atemu. I won't hurt him like that and I'll be damned if I crawl for anyone."

"Such pride," Atemu said, rolling his eyes.

"Damn straight. My pride is the only thing I have left, and I'll cling to it with every last breath in my body."

Atemu shook his head, laying back against Bakura again. "I have an errand to run tomorrow, I would be honored if you would come with me," he said, dropping the subject but his mind already turning the problem over in his mind, making plans.

"And what could our great pharaoh need to do for himself?"

"Shopping, actually. Seto claims he's getting tired of seeing me in rags."

Bakura snorted, eying Atemu's leather pants and t-shirt. "Rags...I wish to have had such rags in Egypt...or maybe not since I would have been miserably hot."

Atemu laughed before poking Bakura's bare leg. "Says the man wearing a skirt."

"It's a kilt!"

"It's out of fashion."

Bakura shrugged elegantly. "Don't care. I like it, it still fits me." He reached down, rubbing his hand up Atemu's thigh. "Though I never did look quite as good as my pharaoh, I used to love watching you ride, if just to see those pretty little thighs bared."

Atemu raised an eyebrow, a wicked smirk curling over his lips. "Too bad you never said so sooner, you might have gotten more of a show."

Bakura snorted. "Thank you but I'd rather not be stabbed by your little lap dog for looking up your kilt. Seth was annoyingly possessive."

Atemu laughed, leaning in for a deep kiss before laying back, simply enjoying the afternoon with Bakura.

--

"Did I just see what I thought I saw?"

"You probably did, and if it's what I thought I saw, I can't believe I saw that."

"My little light..."

"You taught him well."

"My little light!"

"Bakura, breath, he pick pocketed a man, he didn't kill him."

"But..."

"Oh come on!" Atemu grabbed his still stunned best friend, steering Bakura towards the bar Ryou had disappeared into. Bakura stumbled along, ignoring those around him the second his eyes locked on a head of fluffy white hair.

"My little light.."

"Not so little or light anymore, now sit." Atemu ordered before flagging down a waitress, getting the pair a bottle of beer.

Bakura blinked, watching Ryou as the young man started counting what he received from the man's wallet, intermixed with sips of scotch that the waitress placed in front of him. The purloined wallet disappeared into a bag, only to be replaced by another, and then yet another. Bakura blinked, shaking his head before turning his attention to his beer and Atemu.

"Where did I go wrong?" he asked mournfully and Atemu laughed.

"Probably when you stole the souls of his friends." Atemu said, reaching out and filching a fag from the pack laying next to a woman who wasn't paying attention. "_Talk_ to him."

"I can't," Bakura said, staring at the mirror above the bar. "Please stop pushing,"

"As you wish."

The pair drank in silence, Atemu silently ordering them more beer each time they finished. For a moment, the dirty, raggedy bar disappeared around them and instead a warm heat filled the air, the scent of lotus and mud surrounding them.

The moment was shattered with a shout and the pair turned, watching a fight that was beginning in a corner. Bakura could see Ryou's rich white hair and stood, to defend his light when Atemu's hand rested on his shoulder. Bakura turned, intending to snap at the man holding him back when he caught movement in the mirror behind Atemu.

Ryou was standing, swaying drunkenly, one of his hands resting inside the pocket of his trench coat, the other lifting the well drunk glass of scotch to his lips. The man who had been yelling at Ryou sneered, intending on beating the little thief who thought he would be an easy mark. He raised his fist, aiming at Ryou, only to have his hand stopped by Ryou's fist.

Ryou continued moving in a spin, the hand in his pocket sliding out, a knife burring itself into the man's stomach. Ryou leaned in, making sure the knife went hilt deep before raising his foot and pushing the man off of his knife, staring blankly down at the man, blood dripping over his fingers.

There was silence in the bar for a moment, before people started screaming and running. The man's friends went at Ryou, who had turned his back to pour more scotch into the glass. Ryou didn't react, simply sipping his drink. Bakura made a motion again to go for Ryou and Atemu shook his head.

It wasn't until Ryou had stabbed another man and swayed even more as he himself was hit that Atemu let Bakura go, following his friend. Ryou blinked down at the two men he had stabbed before raising his eyes towards the third man, startling the man with the pure blankness of his expression. The man, deciding he would rather live and take revenge for his friends later, backed away before fleeing, running for his car and his cellphone to call the cops.

Ryou swayed again and almost collapsed, caught by Bakura just before he hit his knees. Ryou's head rolled back, looking up at Bakura before the young man burst into tears, clinging to Bakura. "Why?" he whispered brokenly. "Why do you always come.."

Bakura looked up at Atemu who shrugged, reaching down to grab Ryou's things, nodding for the door. Bakura nodded and stood, clutching Ryou tightly, following Atemu for the door.

"I pray and I pray but you never come, you never stay, only come in my dreams." Ryou mumbled, clutching to Bakura's jacket, almost clinging as if he were afraid Bakura was an illusion that would disappear.

"Never come..." Ryou mumbled before passing out, the liquor finally knocking him out.

Atemu called for one of the limo's, helping Bakura get the drunken Ryou into the back before climbing in himself, handing the driver Ryou's ID card so he would know where to go. "Told you, you should have talked with him." Atemu said.

"Shut up," Bakura growled, stroking Ryou's hair.

Atemu just smiled, leaning back and watching the city pass, foot tapping lightly as they drove towards the apartment complex Ryou called home.

--

"Are you sure about this, Bakura?" Atemu asked softly, setting a glass of water next to the large western bed.

"You wanted me to talk to him, make up your mind, Pharaoh!"

"Quiet, you'll wake him up. I just wanted to be sure." Atemu leaned over Ryou, placing a soft kiss on Bakura's lips. 'Call me tomorrow."

Bakura nodded before pulling off his jacket, snuggling down in the bed, wrapping his arms loosely around Ryou's body. "Tomorrow night," he corrected, running tanned fingers through Ryou's white hair. "I have a feeling we'll have a lot to talk about."

Atemu smiled and turned off the bed-side lap, closing the bedroom door after him. He took a mini tour of Ryou's apartment, warding the windows and the balcony before letting himself out of the door, drawing a complex invisible symbol on the door, feeling all the wards snap into place before he heading downstairs and to the waiting limo.

--

"You're finally home,"

Atemu started slightly, closing the front door of the mansion before turning towards the stairs, looking up at Seto who was sitting on the lower fifth stair. A cigarette glowed faintly before Seto crushed it in the crystal ashtray next to him. The man stood, swaying slightly before regaining his footing, stepping the rest of the way down the stairs.

"I'm sorry, I had to drive a friend home."

"Ryou and Bakura," Seto said with a nod. "The driver told me."

Atemu tilted his head curiously, wondering at the blankness of Seto's tone before yelping as an arm encircled his waist, drawing him up against his lover. "Seto?"

Seto stared down at Atemu, his thoughts un-readable, but obviously flowing quickly across the brunette's brain. Seto leaned down, placing a kiss under Atemu's ear, resting his lips against the heat of Atemu's throat before gently nipping at the flesh.

He pulled away and headed upstairs, leaving Atemu to stare after him, nostrils filled with the scent of his lover's cologne, shampoo and alcohol. Atemu shrugged to himself before removing his jacket and hanging it in the hall closet, following Seto up the stairs.

He found his lover sitting on their bed, his briefcase next to him, head in his hands. Frowning, Atemu changed out of his tight leather pants and tank top, slipping into a long night shirt before climbing into the bed, kneeling behind Seto as he gently rubbed the brunette's back. "Seto?" he asked, voice soft, even, trying to keep Seto calm in case he was upset.

Seto shifted, reaching back and stopping the back rub, drawing Atemu's arms around him, holding them as he silently stared into space. After a long moment he kissed the back of one of those hands before reaching for his briefcase, opening it and removing a square black velvet box. He closed the briefcase and set it aside, before shifting, turning to look back at Atemu, silently handing the man the box.

Atemu blinked and lifted the velvet case, rubbing his finger over the sensual fabric before opening it. His mouth fell open, slightly, staring at the elegant necklace, fingers lightly tracing the Eye of Ra that rested in the center, shaped from obsidian and gold, small golden hieroglyphics tracing just above and under the eye. The rest of the necklace was simple, three strands of gold and obsidian beads, intermixed with scarab beetles and ankhs, the claps and elegantly designed royal lotus.

Atemu looked up at Seto, his lover now staring off to the side, as if he didn't want to see Atemu's reaction. Atemu swallowed, setting the beautiful piece aside before reaching up and turning Seto's face to his, smiling softly. "Thank you," he whispered and leaned in, kissing Seto softly, trying to prove how much he loved the gift with such a simple touch.

Seto smiled gently, pulling away. "Well, you don't look right without gold somewhere on you." He brushed his fingers through Atemu's hair before reaching around the smaller man and picking up the necklace. Atemu raised his hair as Seto slid the strands of beads around Atemu's throat, gently hooking the latch, placing a gentle kiss over the flower. Atemu shuddered and let go of his hair, turning to capture Seto's lips, a giggle escaping him as Seto pushed him back on the bed.

--

"Good morning, Mokuba," Atemu said softly, sitting on the teen's bed. It had been three days after the panic attack, and the doctors had finally cleared Mokuba for leaving his room, though not for returning to work. Atemu set the tray of pastries and fish he had carried up to the boy's room on the night table, before brushing black bangs from Mokuba's face.

The teen looked up from the picture he had been studying, smiling at Atemu. "Morning," he answered, propping himself up with pillows before accepting the plate of food, slowly picking at it.

"How are you feeling?" Atemu asked, still running his fingers through the midnight strands, studying Mokuba intently, concerned about the boy's health.

"Tired," he said softly, smiling up at Atemu. "But I'm okay, really. I've just got to shake this off." Mokuba unconsciously leaned closer to Atemu, enjoying the petting he was receiving as he ate.

"I don't think it's something you can shake off, but if you say so." Atemu smiled at Mokuba, leaning down and brushing a kiss over the teen's cheek. "So, whose the photo of?"

Mokuba blushed lightly, barely noticeable, as he lifted the photo and offered it to Atemu. The older man took it, raising an eyebrow as she studied the green haired teen in the photo. "Noa." Atemu said, glancing at Mokuba. "You miss him,"

"I didn't even really know him, but..."

"You have a connection," Atemu said, smiling softly, brushing his fingers down Mokuba's cheek before tucking the photo into the bed next to Mokuba. "It's okay, you don't need to explain it to me."

Mokuba smiled and shifted, leaning against Atemu as he ate.

--

Atemu stood in front of the dressing mirror, watching as the glamour over his body faded from sight, magic melting back into his body. As it did, various blemishes stood out, a bruise that refused to heal, received from Bakura as payback for...pretty much everything. A scar across his stomach from fighting the Shadow Realm, and the green sparkles in his eyes that had doubled in size.

Sighing, he turned away from the sight, grabbing his dressing gown, covering the major injuries with it as he let his magic rest and re-charge. Taking a seat on the bed, he rested his head in his hands for a long moment, centering himself in his body, feeling the ebb and flow of life before tracing that ebb and flow to his chest, seeking out the stirrings of magic where it was currently curled around him, resting and growing.

He tugged gently on a tendril, strengthening it slowly, braiding the strand with others that started to come closer to his inner fingers, curious. Once done he grabbed another and repeated the motion, creating stronger magical threads inside him, ones able to endure more usage and longer between resting periods.

The poisonous feeling of tainted magic flowed through him as he touched a strand and he winced, trying to avoid that section of his magic as he twisted strands, no longer able to tell which was the sickly green poison and which was his own, the colours blending together. He wished he could separate out the poison, but knew of no cure for the taint beyond death.

Shying away from that thought, he finished the last braiding of his magic, allowing the tangled mess to seep back into it's resting state, the sore and abused tendrils curling around his chest, feeding from his own life as it healed itself.

He fell back on the bed, sighing, staring at the ceiling above him as he felt his energy drain into his magic. "I feel sick," he muttered to the air.

"I thought meditation was supposed to make you feel better."

Atemu rolled his head and smiled weakly at Mokuba, gesturing for him to enter if he wished. "It would, if I wasn't fooling around inside my body."

"You were...what?" Mokuba asked, bouncing on the bed and offering Atemu one of the pocky sticks he had been snacking on.

"I was braiding my magic, making it stronger."

"Ooo...still don't get it."

Atemu laughed and moved up the bed to rest on the pillows. "Let's see if I can remember how Seth explained it...every living creature is born with magic, most only contain the magic that creates life, but some, like myself and some others we know, have more magic inside, and that magic can be used for incredible things, but it has to be strengthened and exercised so that it can."

"Oh, like you would exercise your body?"

"Quite like that." Atemu said. He rolled over so he could look at Mokuba without hurting his neck. He stretched out his body for a moment, before allowing it to relax limply, more of his energy draining away with each second. Soon he would be asleep and locked away from the world, but until then, he wanted to enjoy these moments with the boy he was almost as fond of as he was Yugi.

"So who else do we know with magic?" Mokuba asked, grabbing his brother's pillow and holding it in his lap, peering over the top of it at Atemu.

Atemu smiled. "Yugi of course, Bakura and Ryou, Jounouchi to a small extent, and of course you and your brother."

Mokuba had opened his mouth to speak when he was forced to blink, digesting Atemu's words. "Me? But I've never...but...what?"

Atemu laughed. "You need to be drained for it to do much more then it's innate nature of existing. But how else do you think you survived everything? No normal, mere human could simply endure, there's something inside you, fueling you to keep going, to keep moving. Part of it is simply you, don't get me wrong, but part of it is also the magic inside you, keeping you strong."

"Wasn't very strong before," Mokuba muttered, memories of Antonia flashing across his mind before he shoved them deep in the locked box he kept in his soul.

Atemu rolled to his knees, gently touching Mokuba's cheek. "You are strong, Mokuba. Anyone else would have long crumbled in your shoes but you haven't. Every step you take is more proof of the strength hidden inside you. Just because you fall victim to life, get broken and hurt doesn't mean you aren't strong. It's how you stand up after and keep going that is the proof." He brushed his thumb over Mokuba's cheek, placing the gentlest of kisses on Mokuba's forehead before sinking back into the bed, his body slowly shutting down.

"Do you think...do you think you can teach me?' Mokuba asked softly, not sure what such a thing would accomplish, but maybe, it just might push him a little bit further down the road of his life. Strengthen him just a little bit more.

"Of course. Any time..." Atemu trailed off for a moment, exhaustion swamping him, his body crying out for him to just shut up and give in to the rest he needed. "You want," he finished weakly, body already claimed by sleep. His eyes slowly closed and his breathing grew deep and even, unable to surface from the naturally drugged sleep if he wanted.

Mokuba watched as Atemu all but passed out before him, shaking his head and covering the older man with a blanket. He placed a soft kiss on Atemu's cheek, smiling at the man before slipping out of bed, yawning himself as his body decided it didn't want to keep moving around while still being ill. He closed the door to Atemu and Seto's room gently, before heading to his own, making a mental note to talk to his brother about Atemu's weird behavior. No one should pass out like that without being sick.

_TBC_


	4. Caliginosity

**Chapter Four: ****C**_**aliginosity**_

"_Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it." - Terry Pratchett_

"Alright, take a deep breath."

Mokuba did as Atemu requested, taking a deep breath and holding it, feeling the tightness in his chest as time passed, lungs begging to let the air out.

"Now release it, slowly."

Mokuba did, letting the air slowly pass over his lips, removing the puffed out cheek look as he collapsed slightly.

"Good, now close your eyes, and travel deep within yourself. This is entirely mental so don't worry about feeling 'stupid', it's really all in your head. Deep, deep inside you'll see a glowing, pulsating ball of light. Reach out to that light, embrace it."

Mokuba nodded, feeling stupid in-spite of Atemu's words, closing his eyes and 'falling' into himself, picturing such a ball, reaching out for it, mentally embracing the pulsating light. He was startled, as a warm feeling traveled across his body.

Atemu smiled as Mokuba jumped, knowing what it felt like to first touch the magic hidden inside one's body. "Reach out and touch the light, gently, just barely caressing it."

Mokuba swallowed and mentally touched the pulsating light, gasping as he could feel a tendril wrap around his hand. He raised his hand, twisting it, wondering at the feeling considering he couldn't see the image in reality, but in his head. "Weird..." he murmured, curling a finger around the tendril.

"That's your magic," Atemu said, smiling as he watched Mokuba. He raised his hands and blew between them, whispering a word. The light manifested before Mokuba, floating merrily, still wrapping around the teenager's hand.

"That's so _cool_, how did you make it appear?"

"Secret." Atemu said with a smirk. "Now we're ready for your first test. I want you to close your eyes again, and reach for that light once more in your mind. _Will_ it to form a shape. Don't force a shape on it, but convince it to turn into something new."

Mokuba swallowed, trying to calm his nerves before closing his eyes again, squeezing them tightly shut as he attempted to will his magic into a shape. He could feel a headache forming, and the slight pain was distracting him from the task.

"Relax, Mokuba. You don't need to use force."

Mokuba forced himself to relax and still attempt to shape his magic. Atemu watched as the bobbing ball of light shifted, growing and stretching slowly, embracing it's new shape for the first time. He watched as blue eyes parted, before opening fully, mouth stretching in a large yawn that showed rows of sharp, biting teeth.

"Open your eyes," he whispered and Mokuba did, gasping.

Floating in front of him, blinking sleepy, was a small, teddy-bear sized dragon. Small white wings fluttered, keeping the animal in the air as the small creature looked around, before yawning again, lightning crackling in it's jaws. "It's a Blue-Eyes...a Toon Blue-Eye." Mokuba looked confused.

"Not exactly," Atemu said, and reached out his hand, gently stroking the small dragon under the chin. "It's a baby Blue-eyes."

"They come as babies?"

"Of course, you don't think they just burst into being, fully grown, do you? Even Duel Monsters have childhoods. This is your soul, Mokuba. He may be small now, but he's still got quite a bite, and one day...he'll be a force to be reckoned with. Like you."

Mokuba blushed, reaching out and gently petting the dragon's head. "So, what's your soul monster?" he asked softly.

Atemu grinned and closed his eyes, calling for the monster inside him, grinning as he felt the swirling of magic around him. He opened his eyes, bowing to the Dark Magician, Mahado. Mokuba's eyes widened as he stared at the tall, intimidating figure and the baby Blue-Eyes shifted, guarding Mokuba, instantly awake.

"Relax, he won't harm you." Atemu said and Mahado nodded before glancing at Atemu.

"I thought you had crossed over, my Pharaoh."

"It wasn't time yet, my friend. I wasn't...it wasn't right."

Mahado nodded, uncrossing his arms and simply floating, taking in everything around him. It was rare he had a chance to study this world. Mokuba watched him before glancing at Atemu, still nervous.

"Relax, soul monsters are really rather safe, unless you're fighting. Then they will do anything in their power to protect you. They are...incredible friends. At times, your closest companion."

"But they're just..."

"Creatures? Spirits of magic? So was I, once." Atemu smiled at Mokuba and tugged on the teen's braid. "Name him,"

"What?"

"Name him. Give him an identity, more then just a creature, more then something of your soul, make him _real_."

"I...uh..." Mokuba worried at his lip before suddenly hugging the baby dragon. "Set. Your name is Set."

Mahado and Atemu smiled. "Good choice," Atemu said, watching Mokuba hugging the small dragon. "Now, you have to release him. Will him gone."

"But.." Mokuba looked sad, petting the sleepy dragon.

"I know, but this is your first time, if you go to long, you'll weaken. Release him, Mokuba, before you damage yourself."

Mokuba nodded and closed his eyes, willing Set to vanish a tear slipped down his cheek as the dragon started to flicker before vanishing. He sniffled and laid his head on Atemu's shoulder, barley noticing as the Dark Magician vanished.

Atemu wrapped an arm around the teen, hugging him. "That was very good, for a first time. Soon you'll be able to support him longer, and in time, he can come and go with ease, not needing your magic."

Mokuba was silent for a long moment, before looking up at Atemu. "If you can summon the Dark Magician...what else can you summon?"

"I can summon any monster that still has a carving...er, a card now. If the card doesn't exist, then it's permanently lost now. And I can't summon someone else's soul without their assistance."

"So you couldn't summon Set unless I let you?"

"Nor could I summon Yugi's Kuriboh, or your brother's dragon."

"Seto has a dragon?"

Atemu laughed. "There ARE three Blue-Eyes, Mokuba. Seto, yourself and one more."

"But..."

"The forth was lost, when your brother tore it. Whomever's soul it may have been...that's gone now."

"What happens, when a soul creature dies?"

"Most often...so does the human."

"Oh," Mokuba said and his hand reached up instinctively, touching his heart where he could now feel Set sleeping. "If you can summon anything with a card, does that mean you can summon the gods?"

Atemu smiled wistfully. "Once upon a time, but that power is lost now. I could only summon the gods with the boost of the Millennium Puzzle. Now they're too strong for me, I would die in the attempt."

"Oh...er, don't try it, okay?"

"I have no plans to," Atemu said with a laugh.

--

Atemu yawned, stretching as he followed Seto and Mokuba towards Kaiba Corp's downtown offices. He had no real reason to follow the pair, except boredom, and the fact Seto had mentioned testing out the next generation of Duel Disk. It was rather exciting for Atemu, to be the first (besides the Kaiba Brothers) to touch the new disks, not to mention have a chance to duel for the first time in four years. He no longer had his own deck, but a temporary one made up from Seto's card collection. It wasn't _his_, yet, and in fact, he wasn't too sure of how it would do, untested.

Only one card in the deck, was really familiar to him, and it was strange, starting over again.

He shifted through the rows of guards, finding it amusing that between the three of them they were surrounded by ten men. Seto had given him his own set of guards after a run in with an over eager competitor who had mistaken him for Yugi, and the sight the three made when together was almost hanging a neon sign over their heads, indicating someone IMPORTANT was there.

"SETO KAIBA!" A voice roared and the three bodyguards around Seto turned instinctively, glancing around. Seto's eyes cast about the roofs, looking for a sniper, while Mokuba's instead took the ground, looking for an assassin.

There was a human cry of unadulterated rage and soon the air was filled with the echoes of gunshots and women screaming. Seto jerked his brother closer to him, hunching his larger form over the sixteen year old, hissing as one of the bullets that had already killed the bodyguard in front of him sliced through his shoulder.

"Seto!" Mokuba cried out, feeling the hot droplets of blood staining his cheek.

"It's alright, Mokuba," Seto whispered, eyes trained on where the shots were coming from, desperate for a view of the person attacking them. There was an opening in the crowd and suddenly he could see their attacker, a hunched old man, holding a gnarled walking stick in front of him. The man squeezed the handle and another guard fell, even as security rushed from the corporation's building, heading for the man.

Atemu stared, held back by his own guards, unable to get closer to his lover and Mokuba, trembling with fear and rage as he watched the old man dart past the security forces more agilely then any man with that much grey hair had a right to move. There were no more guards in between the man and Seto, and the old man squeezed the handle again.

Atemu screamed.

All the rage, all the hatred, all the fear and terror swept out of his body in that scream. His ears grew deaf to the sounds around him, eyes blind to anything but his family. His family, that was about to die before him. In a movement older then even Atemu himself, the thrust out his arm, as if warding off the blow coming to Seto and Mokuba, screaming for the gods long since dead. He called out to the father, the creator of all, the eternal sun.

And with the break of a thousand lights, parting through the already clear and sunlit skies, blinding those who dared to look upon them, the god answered his cry, a roar crashing down over the mortal plane, washing away dust and dirt in a shock wave, clearing a place for Ra to grace them in a draconian form.

Atemu stared at the shining, winged figure, his body trembling, eyes gazing in and out of focus, almost missing the beast roaring back, body exploding into flame, a jet of fire casting forth towards the man harming the king's family.

As the smell of burning flesh grew thick in the air, and the Kaiba brother's turned to the one man who could have called such a creature forth, Atemu stumbled, before collapsing to the ground, the stained and cracked pavement hiding his right eye as the glamour over crashed into invisible, glittering shards, green devouring crimson, leaving a glowing jade orb in it's wake.

--

"Why isn't he waking up? He should be waking up!"

"Relax, shortie, his high ass expended quite a bit of energy, he'll rouse soon."

"He should be dead."

"That he should, priest."

"But he's not...why isn't he waking UP?"

Atemu groaned, shifting, trying to block out the sounds that were causing his head to pound against his skull. "Shut up, already." he muttered, shifting again in the bed, trying to roll over. 

"ATEMU!" Mokuba jumped on the figure, hugging Atemu tightly, ignoring the man's groan of pain.

"Mokuba...I don't think you should attempt that right now," Seto said softly, turning his chair to face the couch, watching his brother and lover.

Bakura ignored Mokuba, reaching around the raven coloured head to pry Atemu's right eye open, tisking. "You have fallen far, my king."

"I'm going to rip off your hand and feed it to you if you do not release my eyelid." Atemu growled, causing Bakura to smirk and pinch the former Pharaohs nose. Atemu groaned, struggling to sit up, before collapsing backwards. "what happened?"

"You summoned the high god." Bakura said, taking a seat, lifting Atemu's feet into his lap.

"That's not...that's not possible," Atemu whispered, staring at the white haired thief.

"It shouldn't be," Bakura said, his voice slightly cold. "Where, my king, is the puzzle."

"Egypt, buried under the sand for eternity."

"Swear it. On your father's blood, on your mother's womb, on the goddess's breast, that that puzzle is still lost to the world."

Atemu blinked, studying Bakura as he turned such a promise over in his head. It covered everything he truly cared about any more. "I swear it, Bakura. I swear on my father's blood, my mother's womb, the goddess' breast and the very Nile that that puzzle, to my current knowledge, is still lost beneath the sands, hidden from the world."

"Then how? How did you summon a god?"

"I...I don't know," Atemu said softly, closing his eyes. "But I have an idea."

"So do I," Seto and Bakura said at the same time. Atemu opened his eyes, blinking at the two who were staring at him.

"How long, have you been hiding, Atemu?" Seto asked, resting his elbow on his desk, cheek on his palm. "How long have you been hiding from me?"

"What?"

"I was there!" Seto suddenly yelled and the room trembled in his anger. "I stood next to you, facing that maniac, _watching_ as it consumed him! I died, to help you save your precious little light, and your friends, and this pathetic world." He swallowed, closing his eyes for a moment. "I died, because of the darkness now colouring your face." His voice was soft, deathly gentle. Seto opened his eyes, staring at Atemu, and the world around them vanished, replaced by a cold, whipping wind and memories of a salt stained temple.

Mokuba sat up, and the world was suddenly back in place, the temple vanishing, leaving it's memories etched behind in echo. "What's going on?" he asked, confused.

"His highness is in trouble," Bakura said, shrugging. "What else is new."

"How long, Atemu?" Seto repeated and Atemu looked away, not answering.

Seto snorted and turned away himself, returning to his computer. "Go home. Take Bakura and your guards and go. You need to rest."

"But what about?"

"Go. Home."

Mokuba glanced at Atemu and shrugged, slipping off the older man and heading to his brother's side, grabbing his headpiece from the top drawer and a stack of files. "I'm heading to my office, nii-sama."

Seto nodded, attaching his own headpiece, flicking it on and summoning his secretary who appeared on the corner of his computer screen. Atemu swallowed, watching the pair before sinking slightly, shoulders drooping. He carefully pushed himself up, off the couch, swaying as he headed for the door.

Bakura sighed and stood, following Atemu, grabbing the other man around the waist as he swayed more. "Come on, my king." he muttered, helping Atemu from the room.

Seto watched them go over the top edge of his monitor, feeling a sigh inside him that he couldn't let out. He was hurt, far more then he ever thought he could be, and frankly, rather scared. He had not survived the last time he had encountered that darkness, and he worried, he wouldn't survive this time.

--

"Now will you listen to me and go to him?" Bakura asked, sitting next to Atemu in the limo, watching the man rest across the seats, small body curled up.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because, it's not right, he has..."

"His own life, he's happy, blah, blah, blah. Didn't I tell you the same thing about Ryou? And wasn't it you," Bakura said, pushing on when Atemu would have interrupted him. "Who said I had to see him anyway, to close the door between us?"

"That's different, Ryou was..."

"My light, my love, the other half of my soul. Much like Yugi is. Okay so you're not in love with him like I am Ryou, but still, he's your balance, the one thing that makes you whole. He's the only one in the world who can keep this darkness away from bursting forth, Atemu. What happens next time? You summoned _Ra_, for fucks sake. What happens when this darkness grows and that's no longer shocking? When you level cities with a whim, destroy generations for amusement? What happens when the proud, honorable king becomes the very monster he died to save his people from?"

"I won't."

"You will, Atemu! Dartz wasn't some crackpot anomaly! He was the pattern. If you let this continue, if you let this grow and merge...you _were_ power, Atemu. Even without that cursed puzzle you were strong...and now...you have the power equal to the gods inside you, feasting on you. You could sneeze and cause a natural disaster!"

"I won't go to him, Bakura. I can handle this."

"Ra damned bastard piece of..."

Atemu smiled, listening to Bakura rant. "When you start repeating yourself, let me know." he murmured sleepily.

_TBC_


	5. Game Start

Chapter Five: Game Start

"You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else." -Albert Einstein

"I need you to discuss with Mokuba what designs he wants for his office, then I need you to stop by the manor and talk with Atemu. If I remember correctly he wants to re-do his rooms, Mokuba's, the living room, ball room and our room."

"Atemu, sir?"

"My lover, not that it's your concern."

"Of course, sir. What about Kaibaland?"

"The offices are under Roland's preview, just discuss things with him, as for the lounges and general design, the head of park affairs would have the ideas for that from the design team."

"Kaiba-sama, Atemu also wanted to re-do the apartments downtown for for his friend." Roland said from his notes.

"Right, so after you get the Kaibaland designs, head downtown for measurements. I have no idea what they're doing with the apartment, so I'll have to get back to you for sketches."

The designer nodded, mind whirling at all the work her firm had to perform in the next month, but this was Kaiba Corporation and having their name on their portfolio would boost further sales. "Anything else?"

Seto shook his head, dismissing the woman as he turned back to the outlines for his new console game, hitting the side of his headset. "Mokuba, I need those character stats by five, the R&D team wants a wire run-through of level five."

"It'll be faxed over by four, nii-sama."

--

"Master Atemu will see you in the blue lounge," the butler said, gesturing to the door that was emblazoned with an inlaid silver dragon. "Feel free to have a drink while you wait,"

"Thank you," the woman said, glancing around the very blue room she had been left in, stopping by the wet bar to pour herself a glass of scotch before examining some of the paintings on the wall, particularly liking one of a storm swept sea.

"You are the designer, correct?" a voice asked behind her and she turned to find a gorgeous white haired man leaning against the doorway, his white cotton kilt revealing long flashes of tanned leg.

"Yes, and you are...Atemu?"

"Not quite," answered a voice behind the man and he shifted to reveal another drop dead gorgeous man.

The designer had to wonder where Kaiba Seto ventured to find such creatures before she bowed to both. "Koizumi Yumi." she said by way of introduction. "Kaiba-sama sent me over to discuss the rooms in this mansion as well as a downtown apartment?"

Atemu nodded, pouring both himself and Bakura glasses of beer, waving the woman to a seat. "The apartment is for Bakura, so you will take direction from him," Atemu said, gesturing to Bakura so the woman would know who he was. "As for the mansion, I was hoping for a middle eastern theme for my rooms, preferably Egyptian, some modern, some ancient, no revival. I want an English Victorian romance theme for the ballrooms, though a more masculine lean for the smaller ballroom as it's also used as a conference room.

"Alright, and for Mokuba-sama's rooms?"

"Italian contemporary."

"Right," she said, already getting some ideas, sketching randoms designs on the side of her notes as they spoke. "Well, shall we head downtown and discuss what will be going on there?"

"I'm free," Bakura said, standing, his long red leather coat swirling around his legs.

Atemu nodded, standing as well, pressing on the Eye of Ra shaped communicator attached to his necklace. "I need a limo out front," he ordered, gesturing for the woman to precede him. She gave a bow before grabbing her things and heading for the door.

"Right away, sir." the driver answered, sighing off just before Bakura reached over, pinching Atemu's ass, causing the other man to yelp. Atemu glared at Bakura over his shoulder before following the decorator, keeping a fair distance between himself and the thief.

--

"Stupid key," Bakura muttered, fumbling with the door to the apartment, attempting to swipe the keycard through the electronic lock Seto had attached to the apartment in place of a normal, metal key and lock. "Atemu, you _really _need to talk with the priest about his fetish of technology, this thing never works right."

"Here, let me try," The decorator said, taking the key card from Bakura and edging in front of the grumpy thief, wiggling the card a bit as she slid it through the lock. "My offices are secured with a Kaiba Corp lock of the same generation and they all have these issues." She gave the two men a grin as she managed to get the lock to dis-engage, she turned the handle of the door, pushing it open.

There was a split second of normalcy, before all hell broke loose. Three short beeps sounded in the door lock, followed by a click and then the apartment exploded, debris and fire shooting out towards those in the doorway, the bomb aimed for raining the most destruction it could towards the doorway and whomever had opened it.

Bakura moved at the same time the beeping started, using his own body as a shield for Atemu, shoving the former pharaoh onto the ground, covering him as bits of cement and shrapnel rained down over him. He chanced a glance to his side, the sight meeting his eyes making even the hardened thief and murder wince, a rather insane part of him wondering what the hell had hit the decorator hard enough to rip half her face off.

The dust had started to settle around them and Bakura slid off of Atemu, helping the younger man up as they turned to stare at the ruins that had been Bakura's apartment. Bakura glanced down at the hand still in his, watching as it started a fine trembling as Atemu stared at the wreckage, before traveling up to Atemu's face, studying his best friend's profile.

Atemu's eyes were emotionally blank, flat, as he stared at the wreckage, his lower lip caught between his teeth, absently worried under the flat edges, almost as if Atemu would rather damage his lip then his own teeth as his jaw clenched and relaxed on it's own. The trembling that started in Atemu's hands had traveled up the man's arms and shoulder, until his whole body was almost vibrating.

Bakura opened his mouth, closing it, before opening it again. "Are you alright?" he asked, rather stupidly, reaching out for Atemu, clasping the man's shoulder.

"I'm fine," Atemu said, his voice a faint growl, before he jerked out of Bakura's grasp, backing away from the decorator's body and the ruined apartment, body trembling harder. "I can't believe they attacked me..." Atemu whispered.

Bakura stared, watching the trembling in Atemu's arms and hands. This...was so many levels past 'not good' there wasn't a word for it yet.

"They attacked me, ME!" Atemu raged, repeating what he had already stated, storming down the sidewalk before suddenly turning around and stomping back to his lover, stepping over the debris of what used to be Bakura's apartment as if it were no more then cotton fluff. "They will NOT get away with this, I will crush them, I will burn them...I will...fuck!" Atemu clenched his hands together, trying to stop them from shaking. "I will watch their blood colour the ground," he whispered, shaking harder. Atemu started to cry, clinging to himself, arms wrapped around his chest, nails digging into his arms. "Why can't I stop shaking?!"

As the sirens grew closer, Bakura wrapped his arms around the trembling man, holding him tightly. "It's alright, I promise, it's alright."

"Nothing is alright, nothing will be alright."

"Shh.." Bakura whispered, only to be interrupted by a call from across the street.

"Pharaoh?" Yugi said, staring in open mouthed shock at the pair.

--

Note: Yes, I know that's short but I have a block on the next part and can't hold it off any more as some readers are getting snippy edges away from reviewers


End file.
